Near yet Unreachable Distance
by CrimsonFireflies
Summary: Even if the entire world love my illusion more than me, I won't shed a tear ... cause there are you who love the things people hate about me ... Within this vast world, only you who would look at me differently ...
1. Chapter 1 : Red Rose

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloid**_

The Near yet Unreachable Distance

_That time … when my sight caught her face … I wonder … why she looked so sad …_

…

…

…

_The sounds of cicadas …_

_Tingling sound of wind chime …_

_Unbearable heat…_

_Like it or not, I never thought this day would came so soon. Summer, the season I hate the most, the season where the sun was ruling over the earth. I didn't know why some people like this season. What fun could I get under such strong ray, even in the morning? It was unbearable._

_I was not as strong as other people. My physical body was weak. Under temperature which are too extreme would made me faint. That's why during season like this, I would stay inside my house, waiting till night came. I just … don't like heat._

_Entering Edo period in Japan has caused many changes in this country. One of it was … there were not much war like previous period, peaceful town, where we could live without fear. Everyone was smiling at you in the morning when you step out from your house. When you are in trouble there were always a kind people who helped you. There was no poverty here. There were only rich and common people. The rich never looked down on us, they treated us equal. It was like this place was heaven, well yeah … only on the surface. You won't know if everything will stay the same when night came. If only my parents were still alive, I won't be so lonely like this. Time always came late, if it would come sooner, things might slightly different. Wearing this Yukata didn't help me out from this extreme heat. Just as I thought … I really hate summer._

…

…

…

_When night appeared, the true face behind this peaceful town was revealed. The dirty part which existed inside this Town will show its face. For example … Just as I walked around the town like this, on the dark alley I could see several people bullying a child. Yet the people who saw it just walked past them like it didn't happen. If I walked to the back of the shrine in this town, I could saw scribbling made by either children or adults, those scribbling which contained their hatred towards the late Shrine Maiden. At the graveyard, every day I would saw this purple haired guy offering withered flower to a grave. _

_Mumbling the same words every time …_

"_Why didn't you love me?"… _

"_Why did you leave?" _

_I was sick of it. Didn't he realized that his voice annoy me very much?_

_If I told him like that, perhaps he would say, _

"_Then why did you bother to come in the first place?" _

… _but when someone told him, he only said _

"_I am sorry"._

_And he would come again tomorrow. I was sick of it. He acted like the world has reached the end just because one life has gone. _

_If I walked straight from this graveyard, I would arrive at the worst part of this town … yes … this castle, this big giant castle which was the thing this town very proud of, The Akabara Castle. It was the place where all kinds of illegal business took place. The worst ever place to do all kind of things. _

_Every night I would visit this place, I just felt like it. Maybe I was enjoying seeing people got broken here. As people say, "Beautiful Rose has sharp thorn" It was definitely suit this place. I was here to watch the beautiful rose not to touch its thorn. Why would I touch rose's thorn at the first place after all? Wasn't that foolish? That was my opinion, but there were so many fools here who want to touch the thorn … just so that they could hold the beautiful rose longer. _

_For me … there was no need to held the rose if I could watch them bloom beautifully from afar. I was not a fool, unlike them, I won't go … I won't go …. I won't go … as far … as them. _

… … …

_Actually … there was another reason … the reason why I visited this place. It was behind this slide door, where I could hear the sounds of samisen being played from the other side. _

_The other side of the sliding door was a large room where lot of people watched a Geisha playing samisen at the center of it. I felt disgusted when I saw their devilish smile … which was directed towards her. She was the red rose … which all men want to held, also … the main reason of my curiosity. Her pure white skin, her black pretty iris, she was just like an Angel sent to this hell. With her pure red kimono, no men could stand against her charm. All audience here, who watched her performance, always entertained just by the smile she show. But … no matter how many times I looked at her … I felt she was not showing a smile … she was … showing a face full of sorrow._


	2. Chapter 2 : Commoner in Princess's Room

_Today's moon was beautiful. Its clear shape and golden light, both expressing essences of beauty kept in it. It was so beautiful that I could pass days just by gazing at it._

_Suddenly I hung my head low, taking a sip of my sake. I sighed, releasing a long deep breath. _

"_Only twelve days left" I murmured_

_Yes … twelve days left. I sighed once again. I couldn't stand it when something precious was being wasted. Even though she was not mine, but … I just can't think straight when I knew it would happen. It's all felt so wasteful, using thing not for its own real purpose._

_I gazed at the moon again with sorrow in my eyes._

_If the moon could speak, maybe I could find the answer I have been searching for._

_I took another sip of the sake. Even though its night time right now, the summer heat still got into me. The yukata I wear is no use at all. It could not make me felt better._

_All I could think right now was that Geisha. Once twelve days passed, her fate will be decided whether she liked it or not. How pitiful. It was like trampling a beautiful rose, turning it dirty and tainted. Even If she wanted to oppose, this thrash like town won't show mercy. Her fruitless effort would only lead to another disaster to her. It was better to shut your mouth and obediently follow your fate when it was decided. Not even I could escape from the grip of this town. _

_Within this town's rule, a full-fledged Geisha got two options once they have progressed within one year. They would be moved to another town or someone would buy them as their personal Geisha. And now, 12 days left before their new life set upon them. For common Geisha, they might still able to prolong their life as a Geisha. But as for popular Geisha, it was 100% someone will buy them. Therefore they could already predict what would happen to them. That goes for the Red Rose Geisha, the most popular girl in this town. _

_One pink petal come through my window and floated on my sake, snapping me back to reality. I changed my sight towards the great tree, in which this town called it "Miracle Tree". Sakura tree was supposed to bloom only once a year in spring, but this big one was different from other. It bloomed regardless of the season. It said miracle could perform if we wish under the tree, I wonder it is true or not._

…

…

…

1st Day

_**The moonlight illuminates my heart  
>The dance of the burning flowers is my guide sign<strong>_

_**The poem of the intertwining mistakes binds my chest**_

_**I reach my hands into the endless river and let them drift  
>The words filled with thoughts are dyed indigo<br>**_

_The Geisha sang once more tonight, when the moon reached its highest peak. Just like a little red rose which grew under the illumination of the moon. The vine stretched out along with the petals which blossoming. With its crimson petal glowing faintly within the darkness of the night, it showed it essence of elegance within the vast field. Little do I knew about the rose, from far it was very beautiful yet when you get closer you would saw thorn sticking out from the vine. The thorn was meant for protection so that no one would try to pick it up. Although it should knew well the nature of human, the more you forbid them, the more they want to do it. It was useless to tell them._

_Nagone Mako, The Red Rose, she was truly amazing. Even after performing for 4 days in a row, there was no hint of tiredness on her face. Not only that, her musical art didn't waver at all, instead it became better than before. Everyone who listened to her could felt it, a strong emotion radiating within her voice. It charm your heart, once you listen to it, you will felt that only her song exist right now. _

_The more she showed her superb art, the more I remember about how many days left for her. Today mark the 1__st__ day of the beginning of her fate. It meant she only got 11 days left. Poor girl, once today performance ends, she was going to entertain the man who paid for her tonight. Was that the meaning of Geisha? To entertain man at night? Deep inside my heart I deny very much that way of thinking, they were not tools for men, they were artist. But no one agree with me, I clenched my fist in fury, trying my best to maintain my hatred._

_..._

…

_The performance was done for today, I was walking along the lonely hall on the way to my home before I heard a sweet yet polite voice calling me softly from behind. As I turned around, my eyes open wide a bit at someone who just called me. _

"_I am sorry for my rudeness, but May I ask you to help me?" finish saying, Mako bowed down, showing her sincerity._

_The smile on her face along with her slim figure wearing kimono as she raised her head strikes me. I covered my mouth with my hand and looked another way to hide the red signal on my face being seen. I always saw her from afar, but I never thought there was so much difference when she was in front of me Somehow this girl was radiating more charm than usual, if I was not careful, I might lose my sense._

"_What is it?" I tried to maintain my voice to normal, even though right now I was unstable. Slowly, I let down the hand which was covering my mouth._

"_Umm … actually … "the girl hung her head low, hiding her face from my sight. _

…

…

"_Please come in" she said as she slid open the flower patterned sliding door, letting me in inside The Flower Room_

_Usually, The Flower Room was a place where The Geisha entertain the man which paid for them. In which it brought me to a question: "How could it become like this?"_

_I didn't pay for her tonight and definitely I didn't have that much money to let her entertain me. So what am I doing here? Everything goes back to her sudden request._

_Apparently, she asked me to pretend as a man who paid for her tonight. You could say it was a special service for someone like me. While other people pay, I could have her without paying. That's why I was invited to this room. The reason was a bit awkward for me though, she just said it was because she needed it in order to let other Geishas know that she was unavailable tonight. _

"_It is my pleasure to entertain you" she kneeled down directly and bowing with her head touching the ground while both her hands in front of her head. _

_I never saw how a Geisha act directly like this, it make me flinched since this was my first time seeing it. The way she greet people like this was commonly called "Dogeza", the gesture of formal greeting for Japanese people by kneeling down and bow while your head touched the ground. _

_It does not take long before she raised her head and smiled at me. It just made me blush harder whenever her face enter my sight and reached my brain. Guess you can't saw scenery like this every now and then. _

_She shifted closer and sat beside me, at the same time, pouring sake to my glass. I don't know if she did it on purpose or not, but as she poured sake to my glass, her thigh was revealed so much. I could saw her snow colored skin very close. And if I switched my sight to her, her loose kimono reveal her chest a bit. The crimson crawled back to my face, I tried my best to hide it, but on the corner of my eye, I could saw her giggling at me._

"_What are you gonna do within this 11 days?" I tried my best to change the atmosphere, don't know whether this would work or not._

_The question seemed to have an effect on her, although with forced smile, I realize she do felt disturbed with it._

"_I think, I will just do the thing same like usual. Nothing gonna change even if I did something out of ordinary" she said while she poured another sake._

_I took another sip on the sake, "How could you be so calm while your fate is decided by others?" I stated_

_Mako shook her head, "It was decided already"_

_Her bold answer lit a bit of flame inside me, I put down the glass I held and stare at her, "You will do anything for your customer, right?" _

"_I will" she answered without hesitation. _

_I took the bottle from her hand and gently pinned her down. Both my hands locked her wrist, while our face staring at each other. Her face showed Percy expression, like she was born for this. I hated it, hate it very much. My tongue stuck out, licking from her collarbone to her neck which resulting with her moan. _

_My head was buried on her neck, and I could felt her hand wrapped on my back. Done with the tongue, I nibbled the silk soft like skin on her neck, savoring it like I was eating ice cream. _

_While my mouth was busy with her neck, my hand was busy rubbing her thigh. The blood beneath her skin made my hand warm when touching it. I rubbed it up and down slowly, while my tongue came to play again, sliding viciously from her neck towards her jaw, leaving a trail of saliva along the way. Each time I rub, lick or nibble, it would always reply with soft moan coming from her mouth. But rather than moan, it sounded more like a whimper of abandoned puppy in my ears._

_Once my tongue reached her jaw, I locked both her wrist again with my hands. I pushed myself up a bit, so that I could still look at her from close distance. My eyes were locked on her pretty face. I draw out one of my hand and rubbed her cheek gently. Started from her forehead, her cheek and lastly to her chin. Crimson color appeared on her face more as I kept rubbing it. _

_My finger rested on her chin. Slowly with small strength I lifted her face closer to mine. It made her felt a bit scared somehow when I lifted her face. As our distance already close enough, I left one kiss on her cheek. And Get up, ending all the process I have done. _

_The little princess which still lying on the tatami could not caught up with my action, leaving confused expression on her face along with red shade color. She never thought I would stop. I sit on the tatami while offering my hand at her. Although confused, the geisha took my hand and slowly I lifted her up._

"_Let's get out of here, the view outside is better than inside this cramped place" I said while looking into her eyes_

"_Eh? But-"before she could said anything further, I cut her off, "You will do anything I want right? "With that statement, I silenced her from saying anything further. _

_It does not take long before we were standing under a giant sakura tree, the "Miracle Tree". At night the petals falling from the tree were glowing in pink color beautifully, as those petals fell down, the wind carried them towards the sky._

"_It's so beautiful" she said while looking at the tree_

"_It is. Do you know how long sakura could live?" I asked_

"_One week" she replied_

"_Yeah, but for this one he got more than one week to live. He sure is greedy" I stated_

_Mako giggled hearing my statement, "Maybe it because he got his own reason" she said_

"_For example, like he want people to look at him" I replied while waving at the tree_

"_It could be, but I think he want someone to acknowledge him" _

_I grow silent when she said that, perhaps she knew that what I was talking about was not referring to the tree. _

"_Acknowledge … does it really that important" I whispered, hoping she won't heard it. But based on her reaction, I realize she heard my words. _

"_Nero-dono…" Suddenly she turned towards me and smiled once again, "will you listen to my song?"_

**Disclaimer : I do not own the song or Vocaloids**

**Song : Aizome by Mamiko Noto**


	3. Chapter 3 : Tears of Solitude

"_Will you listen to my song?"_

_The geisha asked me sincerely. Dark colored iris staring at me politely, asking only one wish from bottom of her heart. A simple wish from a woman whom freedom was sealed and fate was decided, standing under the beautiful bloom of sakura tree. _

_The most beautiful geisha in town was pleading to me, red rose could entranced your eyes but its sharp torn could tore away you flesh. It seems like … I was not much different than those fool men who saw her as a plaything. I might be more foolish than them._

"_Alright, I will listen to it." done saying it, I sat near the tree trunk, watching her performance from behind. _

_With sakura petals carried by wind as decoration, she stands under the tree, inhaling as much air as possible. Her white skin was glowing under the guidance of the moon, making her looked more beautiful. She faced my way but her eyes were concentrated at the tree. Each strain of her hair which slowly fell down from her shoulder gave me a clear look of her face, her beauty, her charm and her elegant performance. _

_She started with gentle tune, soft sound landed on my ears gently like a whisper of wind. _

_**Though the flower petals are scattering,**_

_**They added color to the town.**_

_**The final time was here,**_

_**The wind kindly told.**_

_I have listened to her song so many times, but somehow this time was a bit different. It was not elegant but beautiful, like she really loved the song from the bottom of her heart._

_**Since the seasons will return,**_

_**There's no need to worry**_

_**The moon that had been traversed at that time**_

_**Kindly shone on**_

_**People always continue to let**_

_**The same tears flow**_

_**Since if we don't lose it, we don't notice it**_

_**If just one wish came true,**_

_**I'd want to say "good bye" to myself of yesterday.**_

_**If there are unchangeable desires,**_

_**They'd always be under the cherry blossom tree.**_

_Stunned with the song, I sat there in silence, listening to gentle whisper flowing out from her pink lips. Sharing her love with me, her love poured on the music. The song sounded sad yet happy leaving no regret. It was as if reflecting the emotion inside her._

_**So the promise of that day**_

_**Won't fade,**_

_**I traced with my finger the morning's dazzling light**_

_**Since the time that has passed once**_

_**Won't return,**_

_**Without hesitation I'll advance ahead.**_

_**So that my important prayer may reach you,**_

_**I'll keep singing today too.**_

_**"There are surely the answers you searched for",**_

_**I was quietly being told**_

_The world stopped moving with only the voice from her lips I could heard. Everything beside that turned silent. In this glowing night, her voice was echoing beautifully in my ears._

_**If just one wish came true,**_

_**I want to deliver this to you in time.**_

_**If there are unchangeable desires,**_

_**They'll always be under the sakura tree.**_

_**So that my important prayer may reach you,**_

_**I'll keep singing today too.**_

_**"The answer you're searching for is here",**_

_**I was quietly told.**_

_**Reset the sadness**_

"_What do you think?" she asked once she done singing_

"_Beautiful." I answered_

"_I am glad." the geisha giggled, her face looked so happy. _

"_Do you … hate your life?" I slowly muttered like a whisper to her. She was a bit surprised with my question._

"_N-no … Why did you ask?" she awkwardly reply even though nervousness was vibrating from her._

_I pointed my finger towards her face and said, "Because your face says otherwise…"_

_The girl didn't notice that one tears escaped from her eye. She grew tense once I mentioned the truth and instantly ran away, with her hand covering her mouth. I tried to call her, but the words halted. Even if I called her … nothing would change. I watched from afar, her tears which blown by wind landed on my palm. I stare at the drop of water in my palm … probably … I asked too much._

…

…

…

**2****nd**** Day**

_The last night encounter was sudden, for me and for her. Maybe the wheel of fate has starting to change direction. I never thought that I could saw another side of her. But at the same time, that blissful moment became pain sooner or later, whenever an encounter happened, farewell will be the end of it. Perhaps it might be better if I don't keep meeting her like that, but after all I won't be able to meet face to face with her like last night anymore._

_Everything which happened on that night was as if never happened. It was another same day for me and for her. I was here listening to her play along with other men, like what I did every day. With her in the middle of the room, being attention by all those wolves, this room became polluted by their starving mind mixing into air. I could saw some people whispering with evil snicker to each other._

_I never like the look of their face, it was the face which show a nature of person who willing to walk towards any path in order to satisfy their inner desire. Among humans, those kinds of people are the most dangerous one. _

_String of melody entered my mind through my ears, snapping me out from looking at those beasts. I just remember that I was listening to her music now, not acting as a father for her. It knocked me out from my overprotective thinking for a moment. Right now only the tune which was the result of synchrony between her and shamisen lingering in my head. So beautiful, but I still thought her voice was more beautiful than this. In which make me realize, she did never sing in front of crowd._

…

…

…

"_Nero-dono!" a small childish yet elegant voice from the Red Rose called upon me while I was on the way to the entrance of the castle. I turned around, smiling at the little girl who approached me._

"_Is something matter? "I asked politely, letting my voice out as low as possible but still clear to her ears._

_When it was her turn to reply me, somehow I could see this girl became nervous. She kept wiggling her body while her hands placed behind her, on her hip. Small red tint appeared on her face while her glossy pink lip trying to form words._

_I tilted my head, not able to read the situation. To clear my confusion, my feet carried me towards her. But as my hand tried to reach her head, she was freaked out by the sudden approach and slapped my hand away. _

_I was surprised, so does she. In a split of second we stared into each other eyes which were filled with guilt. I was going a bit too far, no wonder she was freaked out. I felt guilty about it._

"_Sorry." I said, stepping back from her._

"_No! It's not Nero-dono's fault! Its…" she was flinched as she heard me, but as she continued to spoke, she was halted. It was like her throat didn't allow her to spoke further._

"_Ne-Nero-dono…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_D-do you mind to visit Flower room again today?"_

_Gust of gentle breeze started to blow around us. The sounds of bell could be heard little by little as the atmosphere start to become tense all of sudden, silent lingering between us, no one dare to speak._

"_Sure." I answered bluntly which made her raised her head. But I find hint of sadness and guilt which was portrayed through her crystal iris. _

…

…

…

"_Please make yourself at home." said the geisha as she closed the sliding door before she sat in front of me._

"_I am sorry about yesterday, it's really inappropriate for me to run away like that. Please let me make up for It." she smiled, although it looked like an elegant smile, but in my eyes it looked more like a forced smile._

_I took a sip of sake she poured before my eyes traced back to her face. When she noticed I looked at her, she only smiled. I raise the small cup in my hand, signaling for another pour of sake. And she did it obediently, filling the cup with transparent liquid. My sight was focused on the small hands holding the bottle._

_Although small,_

_I could still saw it_

_Little by little,_

_Her effort to calm those two trembling hand which was filled with fears._

_I could still remember how she used those hands to slap me away when I tried to approach her. When I gave another signal to pour sake, unintentionally she knocked over the bottle on the table, spilling the transparent water on my yukata. Fear and panic reflected on her crystal eyes, as she realized her foolish mistake. _

_A mistake like this was a disgrace to a Geisha, in which she knew this will ruin her popularity if this spread out. The girl tried to let out voice of fear from within of her throat, but my two fingers went inside her lip immediately, silencing her. It shocked her instantly. Wide teary eyes looked upon me, pleading for forgiveness. _

_The interior of her mouth was warmer than I thought. She groaned as I moved my finger a bit inside, warming my fingers with her breath. The Red Rose, no matter how popular, how wealthy or how high her status is, she was not much different from other girls. The white soft skin which radiating the beauty that make any men pale before it, actually was as fragile as glass. It only needed to fell once in order to shatter it. Once shattered it could be pieced back, but it won't be as perfect as before._

_A trail of saliva formed as I took it out from beyond her lip. The once teary eyes were now filled with more tears, as she could no longer form a smile. Only sadness hinted on her face, the tears streamed down her cherry pink cheek before it dropped on the tatami. Words were somehow not needed right now, as I saw she didn't dare to look at me anymore. _

_She felt pathetic and weak. When the effort to hold back her tears failed, she tried to hold back her urge to let out her sobbing voice. Just how much longer she willing to act strong, was she always cried alone?_

_I stretched out my right hand to her,_

_Her teary eyes stared at me with sadness,_

_Doubt filled her eyes,_

_But the girl using all her remaining strength to lift her small fragile hand_

_As the tip of our hands touched, I could start to felt small warmth creeping into my finger._

_As her hand was on top of my hand, we synchronized the temperature on our hand. I gave her my warmth while she gave me hers. _

_As my fingers entwined with hers, our warmth melted inside each other's. Cherry pink cheek turned deeper as she realized this fact. I tightened my finger around hers, don't want to let go. _

_Tears were still dropping from the corner of her eyes while our fingers entwined._

_Slowly and Gently,_

_I pulled her towards me, resting her head on my chest. She squirmed, trying to push me away with her other hand, demanding me to release her. Instead of letting her go, my other hand found its way to her back, pushing her towards my chest. The girl was still struggling, trying to escape from my clutch. But I didn't intend to let her go. Instead I tightened my hand around her. _

_After a series of struggling with her hand kept hitting my chest, she finally gave up as she could no longer hold down her tears. I released my hand which holding hers and stroked her hair gently. _

_It was fluffy_

_Soft and fluffy hair_

_The moonlight reached inside the room through the small window above us. Hiccup sound and sobbing sound was the only voice filling the room. Her hands grabbed onto my yukata firmly while she cried on my chest. The tears which she never show in front of many people was shown to me. I knew she was same like another human who could not stand solitude. She needed someone by her side._

_If rose has thorn to protect herself from harm, then … I wonder does this red rose also has sharp thorn. I was still naïve back then. The thorn used to protect the Red Rose was more dangerous than I thought. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own the song mentioned here**


	4. Chapter 4 : Childlike Princess

2nd Day, Nightfall

_The first time I saw her crying, was when she sang under the cherry blossom tree. Her face was forcing to smile even though it wanted to cry. She might look happy when she sang, but in my eyes she was already crying. Right from the moment the song start._

_Strange…_

_Why was I the only one who realize__d__ this…?_

_Or was I the only one who didn't realize it till now?_

_Am I the different one?_

_It's strange…_

_Today was the second time I saw her tears, she cried a lot. So much that it soaked my yukata. I knew she wanted to scream, but she held it. She didn't want to ruin her image further. _

_I didn't know for what reason I slept besides her, holding her close to my chest, perhaps it's because I realized how fragile she was. I stroked her hair carefully, while my other hand wrapped around her waist. _

_If I shake her a bit, somehow I got a feeling that she will break immediately. Her white skin felt soft whenever it touched my hand. She smiled with tears flowing from her eyes when I stroked her hair several times, she felt comfortable. Then suddenly, the girl moved her head onto the same level of my eyes._

_Staring back at me… staring back at you…_

_I smiled back, touching my forehead with hers, feeling her breath blowing against my face; it was nothing strange, seeing how our lip only parted in such a small distance. _

_**Yuuzukiyo kaodasu kieteku kodomo no koe**_

_**Tooku tooku kono sora no dokoka ni kimi wa irundarou**_

_**Natsu no owari ni futari de nuke dashita kono kouen de mitsuketa**_

_**Ano seiza nandaka oboeteru?**_

_From those soft lips came a sound as beautiful as Angel's voice, moving my heart and calming my mind._

"_It's beautiful," I said._

"_Thank you," the girl replied with another smile. It made me noticed her tears has stopped flowing. _

"_How come I never heard this song before?" I asked giving another light stroke to her hair._

_She giggled, "Guess…"_

"_Now she was behaving like a child, "I thought, noticing it was such a quick change when she was just crying a moment ago._

_**Aenakutemo kioku wo tadotte onaji shiawase wo mitainda**_

_**Ano kaori to tomoni hanabi ga patto hiraku**_

_The goddess continued chanting her spell, it was like she was teasing me. But I know, she just wanted to have someone to talk to. So I let her kept playing like this._

"_Because it's embarrassing to sing this song?" _

_In a blink of moment, I could saw her face glowing pink like the color of cherry blossom. Does it hit the spot? She immediately hides her face under my neck. Her hair was tickling my neck, sending a bit chill to my body._

"_Ho…how did you know? "The hot breath was now warming my neck as she spoke shyly._

"_Did I hit the spot?"_

_A light hit landed on my chest as a reply, telling me not to tease her. I chuckled at how she behaved, discovering her new side bring me a bit understanding about her, "So there are also songs that you feel too embarrassed to sing."_

"_No… not really." Her hands which clutched on my yukata before, now was wrapping my neck. Although I could not saw it, but I could felt the warmth radiating from her flushed face when it touched my neck._

"_I …. I never sing a passion themed song, s…so it was embarrassing. I am better with sad song." The geisha replied hesitantly._

_I smiled once again, stroking back her cascading long black hair, "That's cute …"_

_Hearing my words, her body tensed, making her snuggle closer even though her head already touched my neck. It was like she wanted to hide her face even more even though she could not hide her face more than this._

_**Anata wa ima doko de nani moshite imasuka?**_

_**Kono sora no tsuzuku basho ni imasuka?**_

_The tense from her body gradually decreased as I calmly sang a lullaby for her. It made her much more comfortable as the song slowly make her relax._

"_It…it's a nice song." The glossy pink lips told me._

"_Want to hear the rest? "I asked._

_I was approached by silent as I said it. I thought that she fall asleep, but soon she spoke again hesitantly,"Y...yes, I want to."_

_I smiled once again, thrusting my finger up and down on the forest of black hair._

_**Ima mamade watashi no kokoro wo umetei ta mono**_

_**Ushinate hajimete kitsuita**_

_**Konani mo watashi wo sasete kurete ita koto**_

_**Konani mo egao wo kurete ita koto**_

_While I kept singing, my hand cupped her chin and raised it onto the same level of my head. It caught her by surprise, she released her hands wrapped around my neck and brought it to her chest. Her cheek glow a deeper pink color as I looked into her beautiful painted eyes._

"_W…why stop?" she fidgeted, averting her eyes from me. But whenever she tried to avert her gaze, my hand always knew its job grabbing her chin forcefully and made her look into my way again._

_The smile on my face didn't waver, her glowing cheek just make her looked cuter yet at the same time beautiful. Along with her pretty eyes which was sparkling like a gem. Her elegance was the first thing which caught my mind when I first laid my eyes on her, but the more I interact with her the more side I found from her. In which made me attracted more to her._

"_Ne…Nero-dono, is… is something matter?" The shy little girl asked with her wavering voice._

_I shook my head lightly and closed my eyes, "No… there is nothing wrong…"I grabbed her right hand and brought it between her face and mine._

_As her hand come into my sight, I noticed a small white bandage was wrapped around her index finger which make me curious yet also shocked at the same time._

"_What happened to your finger?" _

"_I … I hurt myself while I was cooking." She was trying to retract her hand back but found out my hand was holding it strongly. My eyes looked straight into hers, sending a signal__, making her felt__ uneasy while our sight kept connected by invisible thread. _

"_Ne…Nero dono?"_

"_I will soothe the pain."_

_Slowly, I brought my mouth closer to the small finger captivated by my hand. I heard her gasp as my sharp teeth bitted the bandage, tearing it gently from her finger. A thin long line appeared on her finger as the white fabric was casted away. I pressed the line with my thumb lightly causing her to squeak in pain. _

_I chuckled, finding her reaction quite adorable. It looked hurt for her with the red line sagging along her white porcelain skin. I tried puffin my white breath towards the scar and she was shivering under the coldness of my breath._

_It made me curious more…_

_My mouth opened, brushing my lip against her beautiful finger. She could not help but let out a small moan which she tried to hold back. Bit by bit, my tongue stuck out half way, licking her finger from inside which replied by whimper. I could felt her hot breath exhaled lightly. _

_Her whimper was like telling me to stop, but somehow I find it fun teasing her like this. I want to hear more of her cute whimper so this time I put her finger deep inside my mouth. Inside, my tongue does the dance, touching every part of her beautiful finger, not missing any spot. Small moan resulted for each time my tongue dancing with her finger. It was like she was also holding back her tears, but I could felt her finger moving inside, does this mean she want me to continue?_

_The finger licking lead to another thing, I slowly take out her finger. Somehow my hunger was triggered just by licking her finger. I stared into her forcefully closed eyes, she was like gonna cry anytime soon. I think I take things a bit too far._

_She opened her eyes with fright little by little when she noticed that I stopped teasing her. Reaching half open, I planted a kiss on her pink cheek as my left hand found its way back to her hair and my right hand on her waist. Her eyes open wide slowly just the moment my lip reached her cheek. The second time I kissed her cheek. I never thought it would take her by surprise._

_I pulled back from the kiss, but before I could saw her face clearly once again, the geisha immediately buried her face on my chest._

"_Why … why did you treat me like this?"_

"_Is it strange?"_

"_No… but…"_

"_I am not the only one who's strange here."_

"_Eh?"_

"_For example there is someone who said she felt embarrassed when singing passion themed song yet she sang in front of me twice."_

"_Th-that's…"_

"_If that's not called strange, I don't know what to call it."_

_Silence was the one who greeted me after those previous words embarked from my throat. Irritation was what I felt right now, no… irritation was not right, it was "curiosity" to be more exact. _

"_Ignoring me like that is rude you know."_

_I could tell that one caught her by surprise immediately. Wave of guilt stormed her at once, I knew she was gonna apologize next within her panic state. So in order not to let her do that, with haste I closed the small gate from where her words gonna storm out with my index finger. It silenced her at once without fail, but the guilt still shown on her expression._

"_Ssshhh … no apologizing now."_

_She simply nodded and obeyed my command like a puppy. Once again the invisible thread connected my eyes with her beautiful colored iris. I do wish to corner her right now, but that won't be a good idea knowing how fragile she was. So I thought another idea to extract the guilt and formality that shackled her from society. _

_But I lost to her in time. She spoke up before I could trigger the idea._

"_Tomorrow…"_

_Tomorrow?_

"_Tomorrow … will you come to see me either?"_

_The time for me to think was long, but in reality I answered her question right the moment she finish those words, "Why not? If that didn't bother you…"_

_A wide smile formed on her face right after I said those words, "Thank you…"_

_It was unfair that she has such genuine smile which could melt anyone who looked at it. For the first time I felt jealous about her and to be worse on a small things called "smile"._

"_Is something matter?" the sweet words snapped me out from my thoughts. It made me remember about my plan which I was supposed to use it before._

"_Want to go out tonight? The world outside is much more beautiful."_

"_Eh? But …" the girl hesitated for a moment, it seemed that she wanted to refuse, but as her eyes meet mine once more, her face show different expression, it was like she succumbed to her desire." J-just … just don't take me too far…"_

_A smirk found its way to my lip, just as I thought this rose look completely harmless. Without hesitation, the words escaped from my lip._

"_Yes and no."_

…

…

…

"_Waaa! It's so beautiful, ahaha!"_

_Mako was fascinated the moment we arrived at our destination. She could not stop running alongside the river, like a child. Few times I tried to warn her to be careful or else she will trip, but she would say it's ok along while smiling at me._

_Eventually I brought her to riverside, one of the most beautiful scenery in the village. Along the way of the river, I could see many glowing paper lantern floated and moved along the flow of the river slowly to the end of it. The entire lantern has some kind of __scribble__ written on it. I wonder what those words mean._

_Somehow no matter how hard I try to search for the end of this river, I could never see the end of it. The folklorist said this river was connected to Sanzu River, the river which separates this world and other world._

"_Nero –dono! Look at this!" _

_Finally, she stopped running as something has caught her eyes. Curious, I walked slowly approaching her as she pointed at the object floating at the river._

"_Hmm? What's wrong?"_

"_Look!"_

_My eyes moved towards the object she meant, I saw a petal of flower floating along the river, to be more exactly its petal from the cherry blossom tree._

"_Oh … this is rare … to think I would found petal of cherry blossom floating here…"_

"_Yeah ... it's so beautiful…"_

"_I think even __flower__ know where to find beautiful place."_

_Upon hearing my word, the girl suddenly giggled, which make me wonder._

"_Did I say something funny?"_

"_Ahaha~ it's nothing, I just found it amazing that Nero dono could know beautiful place like this."_

_I chuckled a bit which make her turn to be confused one now. "Some things could become beautiful if we are willing to look at it from different angle."_

_There was a moment of silent between us as I could see from the corner of my eyes that she was eyeing me with confused look while tilting her head. But it doesn't last long as her confused face turned into another beautiful smile._

"_Yeah, I think that's true, if only people are willing to see from different angle", said the girl as she turned her eyes back to gaze at the river._

_Before long, she spoke again, but this time with a bit sadder tone, "People never think this river would sparkling like this since they thought this place brings "death", they … they … don't really wish to see it from different angle…"_

"_We could see it from different angle … but the fact that this river connect__ed__ to Sanzu remains __unknown__.__ Human fear something which is not uncertain, that's why they never thought to think it from different way.__"_

_The Geisha look down for a moment, before she looked at me once again, "Does that also apply to me?"_

_A moment of silent soon greeted her, as I take turn to be the one who gave her silence. A faint hint of disappointment crossed on her face and she turn__ed__ her head back towards the river. _

"_Nero dono__, someday …__ will__ the cloud …__look at me differently?"_

…

…

…

_I guess … Her relationship with me … is __really __different from others …._

**Disclaimer : I do not own the song**

**Song : Planetarium by Ootsuka Ai**

** You**


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